In this first episode, host Dr. Kate Elden shares her journey into veterinary medicine and the experiences that inspired The Veterinary Leader Podcast. From discovering the healing power of the human–animal bond to redefining what it means to lead, Dr. Kate invites you into a season of real conversations about purpose, growth, and the future of veterinary medicine—presented by Companion Pet Partners.

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Hi everyone, and welcome to the very first episode of the Veterinary Leader Podcast, brought to you by Companion Pet Partners. I'm your host, Dr. Kate Elden, and I'm so glad you're here. This podcast is about leadership in veterinary medicine, not leadership as a title, but leadership as the daily choice to step up, to influence and to help shape the future of our profession.

For our first season, we'll be hearing from some really amazing leaders from across our industry, including doctors, Andy Rourke, Marie Holloway, check, Sarah Wooten and Kawain Stewart. And on this episode, let's get us started by sharing a little bit about myself and why we recorded this podcast. If you take away one thing, it's this leadership isn't always a straight path.

It has twists and turns, and that's all part of the journey. So, like many veterinarians, I grew up with a love for animals, especially [00:01:00] horses. I was horse crazy, but my parents were not equally. So I had some defining moments on my path that really, uh, set me on this journey to becoming a veterinarian. And the first one started with my brother Michael.

Um, Michael was born with autism and microcephaly and. Growing up with him well was a lot of things, but there are two things that stand out the most. He was physically normal, but mentally. It is still at about the cognitive level of a toddler and he used to wake up in the middle of the night and walk around our house and be very loud and raid the fridge and eat all the cheese.

I can imagine a lock on our fridge. And the other thing he used to do is he would step out into the middle of the street without looking. And this terrified my parents naturally. And. [00:02:00] One day my mom saw this commercial for the Canine Companions for Independence, and on this commercial, this is dating me a little bit, but on the commercial.

There is someone who's blind walking with a canine companion and the dog stops the person from stepping out into the middle of the street and getting hit by a car. And my mom saw this commercial and she was like, that's it. We're getting a dog. And within a year we had this beautiful golden retriever named Janie in our home.

And the first thing I noticed was that my brother stopped getting up in the middle of the night. As soon as we got that dog, and I asked him, Hey Michael, why aren't you getting up in the middle of the night anymore? And he told me, Jamie protects me from my nightmares. Now, none of us knew that he had nightmares, but he sure didn't have any anymore after we got Jamie.

And it was in that moment that I really started to understand the power. The strength of the human animal bond and that moment's always stayed with me. And while Janie never saved him from oncoming traffic that we know of, she really saved all of us in so many ways. Animals don't just share our lives, they heal us, they connect us, and they make us whole.

So I didn't grow up saying that I wanted to be a veterinarian, um, but that was my first appreciation and love for animals. My mother also had breast cancer when I was young, so I grew up thinking I wanted to help people and become a doctor and cure cancer. And I worked in a children's burn unit in a hospital and in oncology, and maybe I'm, I'm [00:04:00] skewed because those are very difficult situations to be in, but I, I didn't see myself doing that work every day, so I pivoted.

After taking all of the pre-med classes after college, I, uh, took some time off and I went and I traveled and I lived in Europe and rode horses professionally in Spain. Um, and applied to vet school and then came back when I got in and I spent my veterinary career committed to being an equine vet. And that's what I thought I was gonna be for the rest of my life.

Um. And I did a wonderful internship at Littleton Equine Medical Center, had the best mentors and got a job in Southern California as a mobile equine vet That I thought was my dream job, taking care of horses of the rich and famous and the hills of Malibu [00:05:00] until one day I. Got kicked. Um, and I started working in small animal medicine after I started working with dogs and cats.

I never looked back. I returned to my home in San Diego, became an associate and then a lead vet, and then, um, helped a mentor open a new hospital, and that's when COVID hit and our hospital closed and I began practicing. Telemedicine and I learned that I could help people, um, without having them come into the clinic.

And I learned when that was helpful and when it was less helpful. And that experience really stayed with me. Um, later I became the medical director at the very hospital that I grew up taking Jamie to when I was a kid. Um, and that's how I got connected to companion Pet Partners. And that was my first experience of leadership at scale.

I was in that role for a little while and I had a reunion with some of my best friends from vet school and one of my girlfriends said to me, Kate, that's the perfect role for you. You've always been a leader. And what she didn't know was that I had been feeling imposter syndrome most days working, um, working as a medical director.

And it wasn't until I heard her saying back to me, you've always been a leader. And I remembered, yeah, I was president of the equine medicine club and I was never afraid to speak up for what I thought was right. Um, and lead groups. Um, it wasn't until I heard that reflected back to me that I. I really felt that role myself, and I bring this up because I think most all leaders go through some time of feeling imposter syndrome.

And I wanna say that it's normal and leadership isn't about being perfect. It's about showing up and listening and serving our teens and our clients and the pets that we really care for. Over time, my path has shifted again from hospital leader to my current roles as medical director of telemedicine at companion and leading our new graduate and mentorship program with the amazing Kelsey Collins.

What I've realized is that, yes, I've always had this deep love for animals, but also. I have a deep love for veterinarians, and veterinarians are my people. Um, early on in my career, I wanted to go into human medicine and help people, and what I've realized is that really it's a combination of the two I love and will always love animals and want to serve them.

And veterinarians we're a quirky, purpose-driven tribe and. I would do anything for my veterinary community so that we can prosper and grow and lead our future together. What gets me up and smiling in the morning is leading our telemedicine program and our, our new graduates and our mentorship program that we have at companion.

These are the things that are fulfilling and that give me purpose on the daily. The ability to increase access to care, support our hospitals, our teams, and ease the load for fellow veterinarians. I can reach underserved communities, people that can't physically make it in. Offer a concierge service to those that opt in and just create better workflows so veterinarians can focus on seeing the pet in front of them.

Uh, I get to help build, guide and mentor the next generation of veterinarians. That's. That's my why, and that's what inspired us to create this podcast. I wanna give you a little preview of what's ahead in this season. We're gonna hear from some amazing leaders, including Dr. Andy Rourke on what leadership looks like day to day in a practice.

Um, we'll hear from Dr. Marie Holloway, check on Wellbeing and Resilience, and she's gonna talk to us about the book that she just released, Dr. Sarah Wooten on the Future of Veterinary Practice. And Dr. Queen Stewart is gonna talk with us about Project Street Vet sharing how service transforms communities and how we feel about our own profession.

These conversations are meant to challenge, inspire, and spark ideas in your own leadership journey. Veterinary medicine is changing fast, but we don't have to wait for the future to arrive. We can shape it together. We are the leaders of today and tomorrow, and if we bring purpose, compassion, and joy into this work, then the future of our profession is in good hands.

Thanks for joining us on this journey. Let's step into leadership together and have some fun while doing it.